The IBA information centre, where building began in 2009, the IBA_Dock, was designed to show that air conditioning is possible without conventional energy sources such as oil and gas. The fact that the IBA-Dock is a floating building made the type of energy supply a challenge for the designers. Multiple possibilities were covered in cooperation with the company Immosolar to provide an energy supply for the IBA_Dock from the water temperatures of the Elba combined with solar thermics. This comprises both the heating requirements of the building including water heating and the cooling requirements for air conditioning the rooms.
The energy source is a heat transformer built in to the pontoon in the form of meander-like extended pipes. These pipes enter in the sol plate of the pontoon and are laid over the entire space. Solar warmth is used for the heating of process water and for heating support by means of 16 Immosolar solar collectors on the roof. There are three offload levels for solar energy which are hydraulically controlled and regulated according to priority. The process water preparation has the highest temperature requirements and thus the highest priority. At the second level a heating buffer is controlled which works at an average temperature range.
Temperatures lower than 30°C which cannot be used for warm water and heating are fed to and saved temporarily in the third offload level, the closed brine system. During the heating period the saved energy is raised to a temperature level suitable for heating purposes by means of a heat pump and is fed to the heating surfaces or water heating. This clearly maximises the solar yield and the yearly working figures and hence the efficiency of the entire system.
Energy is managed using the IMMOSOLAR EnergyManager, which makes sure that all energy fluxes are utilized according to temperature and requirement. Solar energy is passed on to the consumer immediately in accordance with requirements or is temporarily saved for use at a later stage. A 44kW Immosolar Sole-Water heat pump is used to both heat and actively cool the building. The installed heating and cooling ceilings are used to either heat the rooms to a maximum of 35ºC or to remove heat during a cooling process, taking room temperature down to a chilly 16ºC.
IBA_Dock was designed as an information centre both for busy public traffic and for exhibitions and thus there are given hygienic requirements for the quality of the air. Air exchange throughout the entire building is ensured by means of a ventilating machine which recycles the heat it recovers. A photovoltaic unit is used to guarantee carbon dioxide-neutrality, the size of which is determined by the amount of energy used by the heat pump unit and also it’s’ auxiliary power units. The 63 polycrystalline Solon modules achieve a delivery rate of 14,8 kWp.
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